Imaging mass spectrometry and mass spectrometry data processing method .

摘要

Specific-site extraction unit 24 extracts specific sites from microscopy images that are obtained by staining or fluorescence labeling of specific sites in a specimen 4. Based on the similarity between MS imaging data and the spatial distribution of the specific sites, cluster analysis unit 25 and division count determination processing unit 26 evaluate the similarity with the spatial distribution of all pixels that belong to one cluster when each of the pixels are categorized into a plurality of clusters. Since the specific sites are sites that include the same characteristic substance, clustering is judged to be appropriate if the similarity in spatial distribution is high. Hence, based on the correlation between spatial distributions, an appropriate division count for the cluster analysis is determined, and the result of the cluster analysis using the division count is output on a display unit 31.